I am grateful for family, friends, and a new year full of memories. But even these wonderful things aren’t the reason we celebrate tomorrow. This is:

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”

This passage is a sign to you as well — over 2,000 years after Jesus’s miraculous birth. He didn’t come for a certain group of people. His birth was a great joy for all the people. And that includes you!

If you’ve never begun a relationship with the Savior born in the city of David that night and if you feel He may be calling you to do so now, don’t wait. Go straight to Him just as the shepherds did. Please feel free to send me a note with any questions you may have — or even if you’re not sure quite what to ask.

I think of Willow Bird Baking as one of the kindest spaces on the internet, and that means a lot to me. This isn't your average Facebook page. We have a lot of fun here and I think form great friendships chatting and laughing together. We listen and share. We joke. We disagree kindly. I ask a few things to keep it that way:

1. THINK before you speak. If you're going to say something critical, ask, "It is true, helpful, inspiring, necessary, kind?" It's okay to sometimes say the hard thing -- if the answers to these questions are yes.

2. Avoid reflexive comments just for snark's sake. It's so easy on the interwebz to make a "flounce" comment or to dismiss someone or something. Some people call these "zaps." Make it a point not to zap.

3. Please avoid "yucking someone else's yum." If someone loves hot dogs, please don't tell them you think hot dogs are gross. If someone thinks a topic is fun to chat about, please don't tell them you don't care about it. You can feel that way of course! But it isn't constructive to chime in just to say so. We all have different interests and think different things are fun/delicious/funny/fascinating. This is a space where we chat about everything from which way the toilet paper should hang on the roll (that was a pretty epic thread) to our favorite recipes to our relationships to our families. Come here for fun and friendship -- take what you want and leave what you don't. Always remember you can scroll on by without commenting if you aren't interested in something.